Malt-house.



R. A. KIRKPATRICK.

MALT HOUSE.

APPLICAHON FILED 1m. 22. 1915.

Patented Mar. 21, 1916.

5 SHEETS-SHEET I.

IV; i1? e55 4 6, 77706.

y R. A. KlRKPATRlCK.

MALT HOUSE.

APPLICATION man JAN.22. 1915.

1,176,297. Patented Mar. 21, 1916.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

R A KIRKPATRICK.

Patented Mar. 21, 1916.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

R. A. KIRKPATRICK.

MALT HOUSE.

APPLICATION FILED lAN.22,1915.

1,176,297. Patented Mar. 21', 1916.

5 SHEETS SHEET 4.

R. A. KlRKPATRICK;

MALT HOUSE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 22, l9l5.

1.176.297. Patented Mar. 21, 1916.

M #195565. jaw/#07 ROBERT A. KIRKPATRICK, 0F TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA.

MALT-HOUSE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 21, 1916.

Application filed January 22, 1915. Serial No. 3,733.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT A. KIRKP AT- RICK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Toronto, in the Province of Ontario, in the Dominion of Canada, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Malt- Houses, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the construction of malt houses or buildings for carrying on the manufacture of malt, and more particularly to malt houses of the kind in which the germinating or growing of the malt and the drying can be accomplished in the same chambers Without changing the grain or malt from one fioor or chamber to another, and in which the malting and drying or different stages of these treatments can be in progress simultaneously in different chambers of the house.

The objects of this invention are to construct a malt house of this character in which the passages or ducts for the moist air and the air for drying the malt are so arranged relative to the malting and drying chambers as to greatly reduce the space usually required for the same, thus reducing the size and the cost of construction of a malt house of given capacity, While nevertheless permitting the required different treatments of the material in the several chambers in such a manner as to insure the production of the malt in the most expeditions and economical manner; also to so construct a malt house that the air for drying the malt in one or more chambers after most of the moisture has been removed therefrom can be used again in another chamber or chambers in connection with the drying of some of the moister malt.

In the accompanying drawings. consisting of five sheets: Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of a malt house embodying the invention, on line 1-1, Fig. 3. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional elevation thereof on line 2-2, Fig. 5. Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view thereof on line 33, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional elevation thereof on line 44, Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a sectional plan view thereof on line 5-5, Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a fragmentary transverse sectional elevation thereof on line 6( Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional elevation thereof on line 7-7, Fig. 1. Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional elevation thereof on line 8-8, Fig. 1. Figs 9 is a fragmentary sectional plan are located and between which passages for conducting-dry or heated air and moist air to the chambers are located. Floors C C connect the partition Walls with the outsid walls of the building, the intermediate floor C and the partitions B B dividing tin building into four malting and drying com partments or chambers 1, 2, 3 and 4. Tim number of chambers depends upon the sired size and capacity of the house. Faxi, of the chambers is provided'with the urn perforated-malting and drying floor 1 a; ranged above the floors C C of the china bers and on which the malt rests.

E represents a humidifier, which may in of any desired type or construction and which provides moist or humidified air 1 the malting operation. he lillmidi o shown includes a plurality of temper-mi: coils e which are adapted to modify the t perature of air conducted to the humidliiw from the exterior of the building through the air inlet e, a plurality of spray nozzb for spraying water into the current of air. and eliminators of usual construction for itmoving free particles or drops of \vatc-r from the humidified air. The humidified air passes from the humidifier to Vtltli M conduits 0 e from which it is distributed to the malting and drying chambers.

The hot air for drying the malt may hr supplied from any suitable source, such a. furnaces F F which, as shown, are located in the front portion of the building and from which the hot air passes through flues f .l to the main upright hot air supply passag:

The air fed to the chambers can is brought to any desired drying tolnpcratm by admitting more or less air from thc r. terior of the building through ducts the air from the furnaces is too hot, thr- 1w mission of outside air being controlled dampers or valves F. In case the air outsim B is divided by a vertica the buildin is warm so that not much heat need be ad ed to it, a heater F, com rising a number of heating coils between which the incoming air flows, may be used. The furnaces, heaters and humidifier may be of any suitable construction and may be located in any desired part of the building provided that the hot and the humidified air is supplied to opposite ends of the building.

The space between the partition walls B plurality of walls or floors g, connectlng the vertical wall g and the partition walls B B, into a lurality of conduits or passages for the air. In the construction shown, H H and H H. represent passages or conduits connecting with the upri ht moist air conduits e e and through which the moist air flows respectively to the upper and lower malting chambers, the passa es H H H H being provided with a plura ity of openings )2. controlled by dampers or valves h from which the moist air flows through passages it below the floors C C. These passages are open at one side so that the air can flow into the malting and drying chambers. I I and I I represent corresponding passages connecting with the main hot air supply pas sages f f and through which the hot or drying air, flows respectively to the upper and lower chambers through openings 71 in the passages which are controlled b dampers or valves 2". The passages H H 1 1 H and I I I I converge or taper in opposite directions, the large ends of the passages H H H H connecting with and receiving the moist air from the conduits e at one end of the building, while the large ends of the passages I I I I connect with and receive the hot air from the hot air supply passages f f at the other end of the building. By thus alternately arranging the moist air and hot air passages, the large end of one passage will be adjacent to the small end of the other passage, and the passages are nested or interlocked so that a considerable saving in space is effected. The tapered shape of the passages is also desirable because the air is withdrawn from the passages into the malt ing and drying chambers through the discharge openings located at intervals lengthwise thcreof, so that as the quantity of air in a passage decreases, the cross sectional area thereof also decreases, and a more uniform distribution of the air throughout the length of the malting and drying chambers is thus insured.

The moist and hot air enters the chambers near the upper portions thereof and is Withdrawn from the malting and drying chambers through exhaust ducts K arranged lengthwise of the chambers adjacent to the outer walls of the building and communicating with the chambers by means of open ings is below the perforated floors D, the air wall 9 and by a being thus caused to pass downwardly through the perforated malting floors D and the malt thereon. The exhaust ducts on each side of the house are connected by upright passages k at the front end of the house, or the end opposite to that from which the moist air is supplied, which connect with a transverse passage k leading to a moist air exhaust fan L located in the front portion of the building The efficiency of operation-of the malt house can be increased by usin the air, which has been employed in the nal stages of drying the malt in one chamber, for the initial drying of malt in another chamber, since the air contains but little moisture after passing through the nearly dry malt in the last stages of dryin This can be accomplished as follows: L represent two exhaust fans, one of these fans being located at each side of the building, and each fan is adapted to exhaust dry air from either of the two chambers on its side of the building. Each fan is connected with the adjacent exhaust ducts K by means of a transverse passage 10 leading to the eye of the fan, and an upright passage k connecting the two ducts K located on the same side of the building. The ducts K are provided at opposite ends with valves or doors k which can be set so as to permit either the moist air fan L or one of the hot air fans L or L to exhaust air therefrom. Each of the hot air fans L L is provided with a discharge passage 1 through which air can be discharged to the outside of the building, and an exhaust passage Z from which the air is discharged to a transverse return air passage l located near the rear end of the building. Dampers or valves Z serve to direct the air from the hot air fans either into the passage Z or into the passage 1. The return air passage 1 communicates with a central return air duct M extending lengthwise of the building between the walls B B and communicating with both the hot air supply flues f f, doors or valves m and m controlling the flow of the return air to the fiues f f. These doors make it possible to control the admission of return air to the hot air flues f f and to mix the return air with air admitted from the exterior or from the furnaces or heater so as to properly tom-- per as required the mixed air. By means of this arrangement one of the hot air fans can be used for withdrawing air from a chamber on one side of the building in which the malt is in the final stages of drying. and returning the air to the return duct M from which it passes to one oi the hot air fines f and to a. chamber at the other side oi the building in which the malt is in the initial stages of drying. From this chamber the air is withdrawn by the other hot air fan and is discharged outside of the building.

In the operation of the malt house, one chamber after another is charged in such a manner that when the malt reaches the final drying stage in a chamber on one side of the house, the chamber containing malt which is in the initial drying stage will be located at the opposite side of the house. The moist air fan L is also provided with a valve or damper n whereby the air withdrawn from the malting chambers can be either discharged from the building or passed into a return passage N leading to the'humidifier, so that the moist air can be circulated and used repeatedly with or without the addition of fresh air from the exterior of the building as conditions may per mit.

0 represents the usual steeping tank in which the grain is soaked in water prior to the passing of the same into the malting chambers.

The malt house described is adapted to be used for treating the malt in any desired manner, and the malt in any of the chambers can be subjected to any desired condi tions of heat or humidity. By means of the construction described, a decided saving is also effected in the cost of construction of a malt house of given capacity, owing to the compact arrangement of the air passages within the same. The cost of operating the malt house is also reduced by this constructi0n,'which enables the drying air to be used more than once in the process of making malt.

The building shown has only four malting chambers, but it will be readily understood that malt houses embodying the invention may be provided with as many chambers as desired and that the capacity of the building may be increased by adding to the number of stories or by adding other chambers at the sides of those shown. The building may-be constructed of any desired material, the walls of the hot and moist air passages being, however, made of material which will resist the flow of heat through the same.

I claim as my invention:

lTIn a malt house, the combination with a malting chamber, of passa es for moist air and drying air extending engthwise of said chamber and communicating along their sides with said chamber, said moist air passage receiving the moist air at one end of the chamber and said drying air passage receiving the drying air at the other end of the chamber, means at one end of said passages for supplying moist air to the moist air passage, means at the other end of said passages for supplying drying air to the drying air passage, and means for exhausting air from said chamber.

2. In a malt house, the combination of a malting chamber, an inclosed space of sub stantially uniform rectangular cross-section extending along one side of said chamber, a wall dividing said space into two tapering passages, the larger end of one of said passages being adjacent to one end of the chamber and adapted to receive moist air, and the larger end of the other passage being'adjacent to the other end of the chamber and adapted to receive drying air, and discharge openings in said passages for discharging air into the chamber.

3. In a malt house, the combination with a malting chamber, of passages for moist air and drying air extending lengthwise of said chamber and adapted to conduct air to said chamber, said moist air passage receiving the moist air at one end of the chamber and said drying air passage receiving the drying air at the other end of the chamber, said assages decreasing in cross-sectional area rom their receiving ends to their other ends and being arranged with the-large end of one passage adjacent to the small end of the other passage.

4. In a malt house, the combination with a malting, chamber, of passages for moist said chamber and communicating along their sides with said chamber, said passages decreasing in cross-sectional area in opposite directions, means for supplying moist air to the large end of one of said passages, and means for supplying drying air to the large end of said other passage.

6. In a malt house, the combination of a malting chamber, passages for moist air and drying air located one above the other at one side of said chamber, said passages being tapering and arranged with the larger end of one passage adjacent to the smaller end of the other passage and having discharge openings arranged at intervals in said passages, and means for admitting air to the larger ends of said passages.

7. In a malt house, the combination of a plurality of superimposed malting chambers, an upright tier of passages for moist air and drying air arranged at one side of said chambers, one moist air passage and one drying air passage being provided for each chamber, said moist air passages receiving air from one end of the house, and said drying air passages receiving air from the other end of said house, said moist and drying air passages being alternately arranged.

8. In a malt house, the combination of a on". Jinn-ti hers, passages for moist air and drying air y; of superimposed malting i chamcreasing in cross-sectional area in opposite d rections, and means for "supplying moist air and drying the large ends of said passages.

13. In a malt house, the combination of a plurality of maltingf'chambers, an air. passage leadirigto 'each'iof said chambers, ex-

haust passages having openings connecting with said charnbers, means 'for discharging .air frOm'fsaid" cha bers througli' said exhaust passages, and a return passage connecting with "discharging means and 881d a1r -p a$ ages-.ff0r a dmitting j air disarranged atone side ofsaid chambers, said -.,-rpassages 'beingtapering and arranged with j ,4;h Larger end of onepassageadjacent'to the} oon;iect.ing theilargerends of the passages :atj; one end of the, chambers for adrnittingg drying air thereto, andjmeans connectingf fotlier .e ndof the chambers foradmitting spa'cedyat intervals insaid passages;

10, In a malt; house, he combination of .,.a plurality. of malting chambers, vertical partition xvalls separatingsaid ,chambers ;3Q-,i.nto 'upright tiers, IHOlSt 'iLlI passages and dryingair passages arranged between said partition walls and-conducting air to cl anibers, said-moist air passages receiving .aiii;-from one end 013 the-house, andsaid dry; .35.

ingair passages being alternately arranged 1 aiidztaperiiig from-their, receiving to their opposite ends. 1, 1 I i 11. In ainalt house, the combination with two parallel -malting chambersQmoist air and drying air passages for each chamber extending substantially horizontally lengthwise between Said chambers, sa d moist and drying air passages for one chamber being arranged one over the other adjacent to said chamber and commun cating along its sides therewith, and the moist and drying air passages for the. other chamber being ar-.

0 ranged one Over the other adjacent to said other chamber and communicating along its sides with said other chamber, means at one end of said house for supplying moist air moist air passages, and means at the to said 5-5 r end of the house for supplying dryi air to said drying air passages.

- in a malt house, the combination of a pair oi'inalting chambers arranged side by si e. passages for each of said chambers for suppiying moist and drying air thereto, said passages extending lengthwise of the chain bers in the space between the chambers, said moist air and said drying air passages des i'i ml er; endofjtheadjacent passage, means other chainbrfi 14,111 a malt house, the combination of a ip lelifii e eff' l mb rsiie r.Pas e g ,t i..sai l;bh i b isi iirf igting s "into said shines-rs; "'exli'aiist anemi ,rmoist air, thereto, and ,-discharge openings I said, otherjcliain i jffor yasangga is h rgi g nimm ,0 a p H i i v. ingain, passages receiving air from the as othenend of said house, said moist and drye t n w thi id-i h air ass ge -for "a haust device i said fie se .ileadiiig-v ,t o'ffsaid ,eii abrsijrerfaaiaiinng air thereto andleilrtending engtlivv'isefiof said chambers at one side thereof, exhaust ducts extending lengthwise of said chambers at the. other side fthereof 1' i E joiirinunicating with said chaniliers' ffineai'is forjw ithdrawing air .fr0i'n tl1 e,.e) hau st fl'oneot said malting chambers,' f' 4 ranged below said air passages'andadapted to be connectediwithf'said r lvvithdrayving means and; with the air passage for another A malting chamber, and ineaiis'for Withdrawing air froinsaid other chamber.

Witness my hand, th is' 21 st dayof J anuary, 1915,

ROBERT A..- KIRKPAT.RICK.

Witnesses: I

F. E PROCH'NOW, A. L. MCGEE.

igi a g a refil ip s 

